SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468
*Spacewalk Preparations, Cargo Transfers on Tap Today*
31 October 2007
Image Above: Mission Specialist Paolo Nespoli and STS-120 Commander Pam
Melroy speak to Italian President Giorgio Napolitano from inside the
Harmony node. Image credit: NASA TV
TO VIEW IMAGES GO
TO:http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html
Today, the STS-120 and Expedition 16 crews will continue cargo transfers
and prepare for Thursday’s spacewalk. The two crews will also hold the
traditional joint crew news conference.
The spacewalk preparations include preparing equipment and reviewing
procedures. Mission Specialists Scott Parazynski and Doug Wheelock will
conduct the excursion, which is slated to kick off at 4:58 a.m. EDT
Thursday.
The news conference will take place at 7:48 a.m. The crew members will
field questions from reporters on the ground.
*Teams Evaluate Array Damage*
Image Above: A view of a damaged P6 4B solar array wing on the
International Space Station. Image credit: NASA TV
Engineering teams continue to look at the damage to the P6 4B solar
array spotted by the crew during deployment Tuesday. NASA halted the
deployment of the solar array wing to evaluate the damage. Deployment
was about 80 percent complete.
The crew photographed the area on the solar array wing and downlinked
the images to the ground.
Meanwhile during post-spacewalk activities, Mission Specialist Doug
Wheelock reported to the ground that he had seen a small hole in one of
his gloves. The crew sent photos of the glove to the ground for further
review.
*Mission Information*
+ STS-120 Mission Overview
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts120/index.html>
+ Harmony Node 2
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/behindscenes/harmony_payload.html>
+ Space Shuttle Discovery
<http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/shuttleoperations/orbiters/discovery-info.html>